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Penticton  

Language vital part of future

After four years of studying a local First Nation language that was almost lost forever, students will celebrate their graduation next month.

The Syilx Language House graduation party will be held Monday Aug.19. Castanet spoke to the Syilx language house this winter in the video above to learn more about the program.

To give a rebirth to the almost extinct language, learning house collaborated with bands and families to train speakers in a tongue that had been around for centuries.

The August graduation ceremony will honour the first class to complete the four-year course.

Students completed 1,600 hours of study and is one of only three such programs in Canada that are delivering 1,000 plus hours of training and creating speakers.

“In this, the International Year of Indigenous Language, and also the year of the Indigenous Language Legislation, language is much talked about, but there is little consensus on how to accomplish what we know we need to accomplish - to create speakers,” said Michele Johnson, with Syilx House.

“Language is vitally important to us as people, and is linked to our health of communities and our personal and spiritual connection to the land and each other. We feel we have found a successful way to create speakers and are very humbled and proud of the work ahead of us.”



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